Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa

by Satyanarayana Dasa: Nobody likes to be put into trouble. At least I do not know anyone who would relish being faced with misery. After the trouble is over, we may see that problematic event as an occasion for learning, though while undergoing the experience, we wish it would end as quickly as

by Satyanarayana Dasa: The confrontation between the four Kumaras and the gatekeepers of Vaikuntha is analyzed very wonderfully in Srila Jiva Gosvami's Bhagavat-sandarbha. The episode appears in the fifteenth chapter of the Third Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam.

by Satyanarayana Dasa: We all have suffered from temporary phases of dejection at some point in our lives. Dejection overwhelms us when the unexpected transpires over the expected, when the bad overcomes the good, and when the evil visits us instead of the righteous. Being human, it is very normal for us to have expectations from people and things around us.

By Satyanarayana Dasa: Twenty five years ago, while living in America, I once visited a friend for a few days. His son, who was about 11 years old, had a pet parrot. The boy kept the parrot in a nice cage, took good care of it and was affectionate toward it. One day when the boy came home from school, he found his parrot had bled to death after becoming stuck on a hook.

by Satyanarayana Dasa: Does love really turn into hate? Really speaking it does not. Real love never changes into hate or anything else. Krishna says that by deliberation, meditation, or dwelling upon an object one develops attraction or attachment for the object. This attachment leads to desire to possess and enjoy the object. This desire, or kama, is taken or mistaken for love. But it is only a vritti of the mode of passion (rajo guna). The modes are always in flux. This gives rise to different qualities. When one's desire is not fulfilled, anger arises (kamat krodho'bhijayate).

by Satyanarayana Dasa: Long ago, Japan was ruled by King Yamato. He had a minister whose name was Ocho San. Ocho San had a big joint family that was famous for its cordiality and the love among its members. The family had more than a hundred members but they lived together peacefully and had a common kitchen. There was no quarrel among the family members. Anybody who visited the family was received cordially and left impressed by the service and reception by the family members.

by Satyanarayana Dasa: The mind is considered to be the prime cause of bondage, as well as misery and liberation, enmity and friendship. Mind is our link to the world outside as well as a link to inner peace. By itself, mind is neither friend or foe, nor good or bad. It all depends on how we make use of it. A mind attached to sense pleasures is our greatest enemy.

Satyanarayana Dasa

Daily Bhakti Byte

Mind and heart work according to their nature. It is intelligence that puts restriction on them. But intense emotions of love, hate, greed, lust etc. subdue the intelligence and then one acts as per their nature, just like a child or an animal.